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Staff Writer: Gwen Pichette
Email: gpichette@umassd.edu
An 1864 abortion law, which has long been dormant, has just been enforced in the state of Arizona. In effect, it will ban nearly all types of abortions in the state aside from those necessary to save a woman’s life.
There are no exceptions in the case of rape or incest.
How exactly did this happen?
The 160-year-old law had an injunction placed on it when the historic case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion was originally passed back in 1973.
This injunction essentially prevented the 1864 abortion law from being in full effect. While the law was still restrictive even with the injunction, prohibiting things such as medication that induced a miscarriage, it still ultimately allowed for a variety of exceptions when a woman needed to get an abortion.
However, with the lifting of this injunction, all of these exceptions have been tossed out.
The decision “effectively undoes a lower court’s ruling that stated that a more recent 15-week ban from March 2022 superseded the 1864 law.”
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade back in 2022, conservative protestors began to petition to remove the injunction.
Nearly two years later, they have succeeded. They are not the only ones.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has subsequently led to a slew of abortion bans that went into effect almost immediately after its reversal, thanks to the trigger laws these states have in place. It is banned in 14 states, and Arizona will soon be the 15th.
Arizona’s latest ruling makes abortion a felony offense, punishable anywhere from two to five years in prison for physicians who perform them as well as anybody who helps a woman obtain one.
According to law researcher Dr. Jennifer Piatt, it is also entirely impossible for women themselves to be prosecuted for seeking an abortion. She affirms that this particular question is “subject to ongoing litigation.”
One of the biggest concerns in the new ban is the possibility of an increase in maternal deaths. The law bans abortion aside for one exception: when a mother’s life is at risk; however, the vagueness of this exception is a cause for worry.
The ban does not specifically state what is considered to be a risk to the mother’s life. If there is no criteria for what makes an abortion allowed, this “raises legal questions and could make it difficult for doctors to parse out when a medical emergency is so severe that they can perform an abortion without fearing retribution.
This means the law may be prioritized over the woman’s well-being—even if her life could be in danger.
Katie Hobbs, the governor of Arizona, called on the state Legislature to act quickly and to repeal the ban.“They could gavel in today and make a motion to repeal this ban,” Hobbs said. “And they should do that. I’m hopeful that they will because this will have devastating consequences for Arizona.”
If not, the ban will officially be in full effect in roughly 60 days.
Many reproductive rights activists are still fighting and are hoping to even bring the issue into the upcoming election in November.
A staggering 500,000 signatures were signed in a petition that pushed for an amendment pertaining to abortion to be put on the ballot. This means that voters “are likely to decide whether to establish abortion as a fundamental right in Arizona until fetal viability,” which could ultimately have the power to “reverse the 1864 ban.”
Many others, instead of protesting, are celebrating the newest ruling.
Majorie Dannenfelser, president of a pro-life non-profit organization, released a statement in staunch support of the law, deeming it a huge win. “We celebrate this enormous victory for unborn children and their mothers. Reinstating Arizona’s pro-life law will protect more than 11,000 babies annually at all stages of pregnancy while providing an exception for the life of the mother.”
Yet even some well-known Republicans have opposed the passing, the most prominent one being Former President Donald Trump. When prompted about the situation, Trump stated that the ruling went too far and that the Arizona governor was going to “bring it back into reason” as it is ultimately “the will of the people.”
Abortion shattering tight alliances on something conservatives would typically be together on tells of the issue’s complexity.
This newest abortion ban is important not only for the future of Arizona but the entirety of the US, as abortion rights continue to be contested.